Federal Way 911 call: 'Oh my gosh, it's like a gun battle out there'

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»Play VideoPolice officers walk next to a van with a flat tire and glass on the ground from a broken passenger window at an apartment complex in Federal Way where an overnight shooting left five people dead, Monday, April 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

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FEDERAL WAY, Wash. -- Frantic 911 calls are revealing more about what happened on the bloodiest night in Federal Way history, when police say 27-year-old Dennis Clark went on a homicidal rampage.

On Wednesday night a grieving community remembered all the four people who were murdered, but the police commander refused to say Clark's name out loud.

Wednesday was also the day that police released the chilling 911 tapes from Sunday's violent outburst. In them, callers describe the rapid fire shooting that rang out at the Pinewood Village apartments.

"Oh my gosh, it's like a gun battle out there," one resident said.

In all, 12 people dialed 911, and city leaders are calling those people heroes.

"That right there takes courage. That right there is the beginning of taking control over your own neighborhood," said Kyle Sumpter with the Federal Way Police Department.

The wounds are still fresh for Angela Calicurchio, whose friend Brad Fisher was killed in the shooting.

"Everything happens for a reason, and I believe he was there for a special reason so no one else got killed that night," she said.

When police first arrived at the apartment complex, they found two victims in the parking lot. They came across another man as they searched the complex, and they say his last words were "call 911."

One 911 caller told police she was worried about Justine, who was Clark's girlfriend. Police say her body was found last.

"It's just unreal," said Justine's uncle, Jason Harding. "It took quite some time before it even set in, you know, that this actually happened and once it did, oh my God."

Despite the pain, city leaders say Federal Way will overcome this challenge. They also say the violence that erupted on Sunday can happen anywhere.

"We are a strong city. We are a strong community and as a city I promise that we will do everything we can to ensure that in fact we achieve that goal," said Mayor Skip Priest.

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